Ryan Blaney put Ford back into Victory Lane for the first time in nearly three months Saturday night and gained momentum heading into next weekend's playoff opener.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion was first to the checkered flag in a frantic, four-wide finish in Saturday night's regular-season finale, taking the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Running 13th with two laps left, the Team Penske driver stormed past Cole Custer on the final lap and nipped Daniel Suarez by 0.031 seconds for his second win this season and first for Ford since Blaney won at Nashville on June 1.

Justin Haley, Custer and Erik Jones completed the top five.

"What a wild last couple of laps," said Blaney, who led 27 laps and won for the second time at Daytona (August

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